In today’s strip, Wally finally gets around to memorializing his daughter Rana’s (R for Rana) gravesite, her having been buried underneath the Montoni’s sidewalk after she died of Ultra Breast Cancer she caught as a child from a landmine in Afghanistan. This all happened off-panel a few years back when Funky was shown working out in the gym. You can tell how moved Wally is by the thought of his late daughter since his face is literally melting off from sadness.
That is probably not what’s happening here, but gosh, what if Batiuk had used the time he wasted this week on exploring Wally’s relationship with his daughter, rather than his relationship with the sidewalk?
Son of Stuck Funky 
What happened to Wally’s head?
More glacial storytelling. It has to be trolling for awards. Also, it says “W + P” so that’s probably “Wally loves pizza.”
Unless it’s “Wally loves Pete.” Which…hey Batiuk, following that rabbit hole might get you some awards! Think about it.
Oh, it’s a ramp. I get it now. Five silent strips in a row and this is the climax. Lord knows I’ve seen Batiuk stretch out some stories in my time but man alive, this is truly impressive.
Wally, you fool! That curb was the only thing keeping Crankshaft out!
Ugh, this comment will no doubt come back to haunt us, guaranteed.
Wally + Rachel? Won’t his wife be touched by the sentiment? Aside from the fact that she’s already touched?
That was utterly dumb and a waste of a strip… unless this is the precursor to Rachel getting cancer!
I look forward to the arc where somebody trips over those initials and sues the pants off Funky.
Fun fact: the last time anyone etched their girlfriend’s initials in fresh cement was 2002. And that person was doing it ironically.
So Wally is boldly striking back against the endless onslaught of irony? Suddenly I like him a lot more. I get tired of irony. A little sincerity is welcome.
Did Wally pay to build this ramp? Or did he just slip chinbeard $20 to let him carve some juvenile initials?
So we’re not going to see anyone use the ramp until Sunday? Or is this stretching into next week? (Please don’t let it stretch into next week.)
OF COURSE it’s stretching into next week. The road to the 50th Anniversary isn’t paved with one-seek arcs.
That should be “one-week,” of course.
So, the pizzeria is open, but Wally is busy playing in wet cement? Well, at least now Montoni’s can not have customers of all abilities. And won’t Rachel be delighted on their next “date night” when her “big spender” fella shows off his second artistic accomplishment of the week?
Me, I’m curious about the background of the construction worker, who seems to be sporting an Amish beard and a Manchester United scarf.
What construction worker wears unsafe apparel?
Well, the one with the Village People often wore sunglasses and ran around sans shirt; both could be considered dangerous on some worksites.
First Haiku of the Day:
We needed this ramp
Heart attacks are up this month
Have to wheel them out
Second Haiku of the Day:
How’d you lose your feet?
Pizza-fueled diabetes?
Glad to have you back!
And, just for fun:
Wally and Rachel
Sitting in a tree, K-I-
S-S-I-N-G
You know, Wally has been all over the place lately yet Buddy, the key to Wally’s very survival, is nowhere to be seen anymore. Buddy is a trained service dog, is Wally really just letting the poor dog sit there alone in that horrible apartment all day with nothing to do? Does he make Buddy climb up and down those cold unforgiving metal stairs every time he needs a walk? He always renders Becky’s pinned-up sleeve with loving detail, he always remembers that stupid green pitcher, but Buddy is too difficult to draw? It seems so unfair and wrong to me.
Coming soon: after Wally’s vandalism leads the city to condemn the new wheelchair ramp and fine Montoni’s $1000 a day until they comply and re-build it, Funky auctions off the band box to raise money for the project, but after the auction both the money box and Cory are nowhere to be seen.
If Batiuk plans to make Walleyed a first-rank character, then he’ll have to ditch Buddy. Batiuk does not believe his favorite characters have weaknesses, at least not when they might be one of his avatars.
Buddy’s dead, man.
New arc: return of the bricks
I can’t imagine that the workers who lay out cement like this are thrilled with the idea of some asshole coming along and writing his and his wife’s initials in the thing. What does Wally’s etching have to do with the ramp anyway? It’s not like it commemorates the purpose of installing it in the first place or anything. It’s just Wally marking his spot. Too bad he didn’t go totally juvenile and write FART there instead. At least that would have been negligibly amusing.
Also, I know this was addressed yesterday but where exactly is this ramp oriented with the street and parking places? There was the idea that it was being installed to correspond to the crosswalk, even though the crosswalk should have already mandated a curb cut, but said crosswalk is not in evidence today. If it was to facilitate getting people with mobility issues into the restaurant, there should be a handicapped parking spot right there next to it, which is also not in evidence.
Basically, it’s just Batiuk patting himself on the back with this, using his new pet character for these things. Isn’t he just swell for acknowledging that handicapped people exist? Too bad he wasn’t aware of the accommodations that have already been made for them, which kind of diminishes the self-serving message he’s trying to convey.
Just more of Batty’s narcissism wrapped up and hidden behind good intentions..Just like that stupid sign in the window.
The very definition of “virtue signaling.”
The R actually stands for Roxor, a character from the 1930s serial Chandu the Magician. It could also stand for Rod as in Rod Riley, the alter ego of minor 40s superhero Firebrand. Because that’s how all these characters operate.
So Wally just pays for a crew to rip up the public sidewalk, install a tripping hazard ( this is why ramps are installed at corners), and then vandalizes public property.
Great story there Batty. But you won’t even get an award for trying…
Walleye has a straight nail, not a bent one stolen from Masone Jarrre.
Isn’t he a bit old to be writing in cement??
The ONLY funny thing about this strip is the fact that BatSuck thinks it’s characters are lovable and charming. *Buddy being the ONE exception 🐕
I wonder if the wheelchair ramp means that Batiuk is going to introduce a character in a wheelchair soon?